Hello and Welcome!

My name is Dan (yes that’s me over there falling through the air). I’m very glad you made it to this section of the website. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m guessing that you reading this means that you are at least a little bit curious about who I am and what teen coaching is?

Now, regardless of whether you found this site through a parent, friend, or simply floating out there on the web, I’m sure you’re probably wondering a few things. Allow me to share with you what some of the questions I might be asking if I was a teenager checking this stuff out ...

“First off, who is this guy who calls himself a teen coach, and why does he think he can help me?? I can’t even pronounce this guys last name” (It’s pronounced Ent-Mac-Er btw, my family apparently made Ents in years passed?). “Secondly, what is teen coaching, how could it help me, and what would we even be doing? Do I have to sit in an office and talk about my feelings for an hour every week?” Etc, etc, etc.

Well, if you’re asking these questions I’m very glad that you are, because that means that you are engaged with your life and where it’s going, and believe me, that’s a good thing.

Let’s start with who I am and what made me want to work with teens, and then we’ll get into some of the specifics of what teen coaching is and how it might benefit you.

Getting to Know Me:

I’m am in my early 30’s and I’ve been working with teenagers for the past 10 years. I have enjoyed it very much.

I was born and raised outside of Asheville North Carolina on 30 acres of farm and forest land, where I spent most of my time building elaborate tree forts with my next-door neighbor. My parents split up when I was 8 but we stayed in the Asheville area. I first left home at 17 to go to Prescott College in Arizona for environmental sciences, then my Mom became ill and I came back home for a few years to take care of her. At some point I became severely depressed, in part because I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I was spending a lot of time and energy taking care of my Mom. After she became healthy again I decided to go back to school, for psychology this time. So, I moved to Boulder and went to Naropa University (You know, the little hippie buddhist college), where I graduated with a BA in Contemplative Psychology (we can talk more about that later if you want :).

I think I can say with confidence that I was a pretty active and enthusiastic teenager, and that I remain so today (the active and enthusiastic part). I started playing soccer when I was about 7 and have played on and off over the years. I’m currently on a Naropa team here in Boulder. I’ve been mountain biking since age 13, which is also about the time I started taking bass guitar lessons. From there, I branched out and taught myself guitar at age 16 and started rocking out with my younger brother, who was an aspiring drummer at the time. I’ve always loved music, with indie rock probably being my genre of choice, but I like a lot of different artists across the musical spectrum.

I’ve been fairly obsessed with rock climbing since I got to Colorado. I love going out on a cool crisp Boulder day and finding some incredible bouldering problems to work on. And I love teaching others how to climb! I’m also an avid backpacker and amateur mountaineer. I immensely enjoy climbing Colorado’s fourteener’s or justing getting out and finding some lost and hidden place to enjoy being alive. I did my first extended backpacking trip with N.O.L.S. (National Outdoor Leadership School) to the middle of nowhere Yukon Canada when I was 17, but I’ve pretty much loved and felt most at home in the wilderness all my life. I’ve also studied Native American awareness and survival skills (like how to stalk a wild animal, start a fire from two pieces of wood, build a life saving shelter, etc).

Since I was very young I’ve had a strong desire to get to the bottom of things, to find what is True, and experience what is real. And so I’ve spent a lot of time studying and practicing many of the worlds meditative and spiritual practices. Over the past 6 years I’ve been practicing the Modern-Day Meditation pretty consistently, which is a dynamic meditative practice that uses all kinds of music from Metallica to Mozart (yes we have a DJ) and allows space for any and all types of self expression and emotional release. Needless to say, this practice has helped me a great deal over the years, especially being able to let out a lot of anger at myself and the world.

Well, I think that’s a good start. If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask them! Even if it’s just “So, why do you like working with teens?” or “What are your favorite bands right now?” I am available for you, just fill in the contact form and I will get back to you as soon as possible.

If you want to know more about what a coaching session might look like and how it can help you, please scroll back up to the top and click on the “What is Teen Coaching?” link on the left.

I hope to hear from you, and if you choose to do so, I look forward to helping you achieve your goals, discovering and building on your natural talents, and creating the life you want to live now.

Cheers,

Dan Entmacher MA, Life Strategies Coach, LPCc